Expandable tissue dispensing package



y 7, 1965 w. u. DAY ETAL 3,197,062

EXPANDABLE TISSUE DISPENSING PACKAGE Filed Sept. 27, 1962 United States Patent O 3,197,062 EXPANDABLE TISSUE DISPENSING PACKAGE Winterton U. Day and Kenneth M. Enloe, Neenah, Wis., assignors to Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Neenah,

Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 226,523

3 Claims. (Cl. 221-48) This invention relates to tissue dispensing cartons and more specifically to improved cartons adapted to house a stack of interleaved tissues maintained therein under compression prior to use.

An important object of the invention is to provide an improved tissue dispensing carton capable of expanding as required to insure proper dispensing of interleaved tissues from a stack initially housed therein in a compressed condition, and regardless of ambient moisture conditions to which the tissues may have been subsequently subjected.

Another object is to provide an improved dispensing carton adapted to house a stack of interleaved and compressed tissues under minimum bulk conditions prior to use with attendant economies during shipment and storage thereof.

Other objects-and advantages of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon examination of the specification and drawings.

In the drawings, in which like parts are identified by the same reference numerals,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an improved tissue dispensing carton illustratingthe manner in which a stack of compressed tissues are maintained therein in accordance with the concepts herein taught.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 and illustrating a tissue carton of alternate construction.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show, respectively, in fragmentary end elevation and partly sectionalized, the structures of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a stack of tissues housed have also been marketed in the form of a housed stack of interleaved but noninterbonded sheets. Until quite recently such stacks were not compressed prior to being loaded by the manufacturer into their dispensing cartons. Recently however applicants assignee adopted the practice of substantially compressing stacks of interfolded facial tissues or the like with an attendant substantial saving of space plus an improvement in the quality of the tissues which resulted from compression. Such com pressed tissues are now widely sold throughout the United States and are preferred, by millions of users, to the noncompressed type put-ups. However the advantages gained by reason of the techniques developed for compressing the tissue stacks under certain controlled conditions are offset to some extent in certain high humidity areas due to growth in bulk prior to use.

Stacks of compressed interleaved tissues have heretofore been housed in dispensing cartons the interiors of which are slightly larger than the stack size to compensate for an anticipated normal amount of humidity induced stack growth. A relatively small amount of growth space compensates for normal bulk growth in most areas of the country, but a much larger amount of carton space is required to insure proper dispensing incertainhigh humidity areas. Since a major purpose of compression is the reduction of overall carton size, it is obviously undesirable vto increase the depth of all cartons to insure proper dispensing in high humidity areas which represent, geographically, only a small part of the country.

Excessive stack growth results in the carton being drawn tight about the stack, thus preventing satisfactory in dividual sheet extraction and often requiring unitary removal of part of the stack to insure proper dispensing from the remaining portion. While a stack of compressed tissues grows somewhat from natural expansion which can be predicted with reasonable accuracy, expansion due to moisture absorption, since a function of such variables as relative humidity and storage time between manufacture and use, cannot be so predicted. The present invention solves the above problems by permitting a compressed stack of tissues to be housed in a carton under minimum bulk conditions while insuring optimum individual sheet dispensing regardless. of the ambient humidity conditions or storage time to which the carton contents might have been subjected prior to use.

FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate a tissue dispensing carton 10 of relatively light weight paperboard adapted to house a compressed stack of tissue 24. Carton 10 is of the accordion type and consists of a top wall 12, a bottom wall 14, an end wall 16, an opposite end wall, not shown, and two side Walls 18, 20. End wall 16.is hinged inwardly along fold line 22 extending transversely thereof and positioned medially of top and bottom walls, as is the opposite end wall. Side walls 18, are hinged inwardly along similar fold lines as shown at 26. End portions of side wall 18 are provided with fold lines 28, 30, FIG. 1, extending obliquely from the upper and lower wall corners, respectively, to meet at point 32 on line 26. Such fold lines, at each corner of the box, define upper and lower laterally extending V-shaped fin-like portions.

Since the unobstructed internal area of a carton of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 decreases as opposed walls are drawn close together, the carton is dimensioned to permit stack 24 of highly compressed facial tissues and of a certain height to be housed therein with suflicient side wall clearance to permit the carton thereafter to be snugly drawn against the tissue stack for maintenance in that configuration prior to use by band wrapping or the like. An elongate dispensing opening, shown dotted at 33, is provided in the carton top wall and completely covered by a carton encircling band 35 of strong paper or the like which serves the double function of maintaining the top and bottom walls of the carton in snug engagement with corresponding surfaces of the tissue stack while sealing opening 33 against entry of foreign matter prior to removal of the band for use. The invention is not however directed to the particular carton construction of FIG. 1, and contemplates other expandable cartons of the accordion type as well as cartons of telescopic or other suitable construction.

FIGS. 2 and 4 show a common type of telescopic carton in which a base portion 36 terminates upwardly in a rim or band-like marginal portion 38 adapted snugly to receive corresponding marginal portions 40 of a cover portion 42. A stack of highly compressed facial tissues or the like 44 is disposed therein as shown in FIG. 4, with the top wall 42 of the carton maintained in snug engagement with the top of tissue stack 44 by an encircling band wrapper 48. Since the carton walls remain fixed with variation of carton depth, very little clearance is required between the walls of the carton and the stack. As in the FIG. 1 structure an elongate top wall dispensing opening 49 is completely sealed by wrapper band 48 prior to use.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a dispensing flexible carton 51 J! comprising top and bottom planar elements 50, 52 respectively, of fairly rigid material such as cardboard, an enclosing wrapper 54 of flexible sheet material such ,as polyethylene or the like, and an encircling band wrapper 56. Carton 51 houses a stack of highly compressed tissues 58-heldunder compression by band 56. Wrapper 54 is of dilferent size to permit the required expansion thereof, upon removal of band 56, for optimum tissue dispensing- In common with the structures of FIGS? 1 and 2, element 50 which serves as the top wall of the package is provided with an elongate dispenser opening 60 which is closed by band 56 prior to use. Since in each instance the dispenser opening lies directly beneath and is sealed vby the band wrapper, perforated panels as heretofore conventionally employed on dispenser cartons and which are diflicult to remove,'are avoided. V

The invention thus contemplates the employment of expandable cartons'to house a stack of highly compressed interleaved tissues heldunder compression priorto use by suitable contraining means. It will be understood that, the inventive concept. is not limited to the specific constructional details of the cartons and package structures above described.

In the claims:

1. In combination, an expandable container, a stack of interleaved and highly compressed tissues housed in said container, and a manually removable band encircling said container; said container comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, two end walls and two side walls; said top wall having an elongate dispensing opening therein and said top wall being of substantially the same dimension as said bottom wall; said side walls and said end walls having means permitting expansion and contraction in a vertical direction; and said manually removable band encircling said container to cover said opening and holding said side and end walls in contracted condition while maintaining said top and bottom walls in snug engagement with the top and bottom of the compressed tissue stack; whereby upon removal of said band said container and stack may freely expand to compensate for humidity induced growth in said stack.

2. The combination package of claim 1 in which the expansion and contraction means for said side walls and said end walls comprises medially positioned fold lines extending transversely thereof with the end portions of said side walls also having a pair of fold lines extending obliquely inward from each of the upper and lower wall corners and meeting at a point on said medially positioned fold lines; said side and end walls being hinged inwardly in contracted condition on said fold lines; and said top and bottom walls extending beyond the ends and sides of said stack to provide sufficient clearance at the stack edges for said inwardly hinged side and end walls.

3. The combination package of claim 1 in which the expansion and contraction means for said side and end walls comprises a telescopic construction wherein lower portions of said side and end walls terminate upwardly in a rim-like marginal portion adapted snugly to encircle and to receive in slidable relationship corresponding upper portions of said sideand end walls.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 470,906 3/92 Whitelaw 221-63 586,296 7/97 Thomas. 1,588,733 6/26 Hoberg 221- f 1,977,687 10/34 Medofi.

2,011,236 8/35 Winter et al. 206-57 2,011,403 8/35 Gessler 221-35 2,256,074 9/41 Crebbs 221-46 2,279,658 4/42 Crebbs 221-45 2,309,795 2/43 Siegel 221-63 2,541,933 2/51 Nail 221-48 2,573,309 10/51 Chipkevich 221-63 2,672,233 3/54 Baxter 221-48 2,675,123 4/54 Baird. 2,880,866 4/59 Van Dyck 206-835 2,979,871 4/61 Kieckhefer 206- X RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

KENNETH N. LEIMER, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, AN EXPANDABLE CONTAINER, A STACK OF INTERLEAVED AND HIGHLY COMPRESSED TISSUES HOUSED IN SAID CONTAINER, AND A MANUALLY REMOVABLE BAND ENCIRCLING SAID CONTAINER; SAID CONTAINER COMPRISING A TOP WALL, A BOTTOM WALL, TWO END WALLS AND TWO SIDE WALLS; SAID TOP WALL HAVING AN ELONGATE DISPENSING OPENING THEREIN AND SAID TOP WALL BEING OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIMENSION AS SAID BOTTOM WALL; SAID SIDE WALLS AND SAID END WALLS HAVING MEANS PERMITTING EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION; AND SAID MANUALLY REMOVABLE BAND ENCIRCLING SAID CONTAINER TO COVER SAID OPENING AND HOLDING SAID SIDE AND END WALLS IN CONTRACTED CONDITION WHILE MAINTAINING SAID TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS IN SNUG ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE COMPRESSED TISSUE STACK; WHEREBY UPON REMOVAL OF SAID BAND SAID CONTAINER AND STACK MAY FREELY EXPAND TO COMPENSATE FOR HUMIDITY INDUCED GROWTH IN SAID STACK. 